History Main / CorporalPunishment

* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' is extremely fond of having people beat on their subordinates. Sometimes it's to [[GetAholdOfYourselfMan knock some sense into them]], but just as often it's just punishment for misdeeds. It gave birth to the "Bright Slap" meme.
** Ironically, despite the meme, the ''original'' "Bright Slap" in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' actually just made things ''worse'', as it provoked Amaro into abandoning the fight in a critical moment.
** Kamille from ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'' gets beaten up ''a lot''. It doesn't help that he has no respect for authority and is a decent martial artist on top of being a Gundam pilot. (Two of these times even reached MemeticMutation status through the "ZETA PAUNCH" videos.) His girlfriend Fa got slapped ''twice'' by Emma after her disastrous first ActionGirlfriend stint.
** Played with in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ'': when Wong tries to administer a "correction" to Judau, Judau responds by kneeing him in the gut and running off, saying that he doesn't have to take that kind of crap from self-important adults.

** Shinn from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'' gets slapped around by Athrun for disobeying orders. Shinn being Shinn, all it does is make him resentful.

** Another episode has Otto the bus driver suspended[[note]][[RuleOfFunny With pay!]][[/note]] as a penalty for spanking Bart after the latter comendeered the bus earlier.

* In ''Film/FannyAndAlexander'', Alexander's stepfather the evil Bishop flogs him on the bare buttocks with a carpet beater ''in front of the whole household''.

** Bill's father apparently sanked him every day for eight years, seemingly for no actual reason. This is implied to be one of the many reasons Bill turned out as messed up as he is now.

** In ''Literature/TheJungleBook'', both Baloo and Bagheera occasionally smack the young Mowgli for disobedience (and almost getting them killed), while in ''Literature/JustSoStories'' this is seen as the cure for the Elephant's Child's 'satiable curiosity. Different era and all that (and also, they're animals).

* In ''Literature/TheEyesOfTheDragon'', prince Peter was whipped for saving the life of a crippled horse that was about to be put out of its misery by the Head Groom, Yosef. Although his father let him keep the horse, tradition demanded that the boy still be punished for interfering with his elders. King Roland decides to honor Peter by administering the whipping himself, although it pained him more than Peter (who was unable to sit for a week).

** Throughout the series, it's made clear that Hank, Kahn, and Dale (all fathers with experience with parental cruelty, especially of fathers in Kahn's and Hanks's case) don't approve of it for their children. Dale actually intervenes when Peggy is about to punish Joseph in the episode and Kahn and Hank find they agreed that "no dessert" is a more ideal punishment than spanking.

* ''Literature/MissEllicotsSchoolForTheMagicallyMinded'': Mrs. Warthall deals with kids who break the rules with by whacking them with a ladle.

* ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'' uses ATasteOfTheLash as actual judicial punishment assigned by a court martial, and also discusses the fact that ''any'' corporal punishment (from a DopeSlap to a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown to ''summary execution'') is legal as long as the punisher can demonstrate that it was necessary and reasonable.
** Corporal punishment also exists in the civilian justice system in the novel. Minor crimes, such as drunk driving, are usually punished with the accused being publicly lashed behind the courthouse immediately after being found guilty. Major crimes such as kidnapping or murder are punishable by immediate execution (usually by hanging). It's also mentioned that teachers and headmasters at schools have the authority to use corporal punishment on students who break school rules.
** [[Creator/RobertAHeinlein Heinlein]] advocated corporal punishment in his books generally. Nothing excessive, mind you (from his perspective), just a little paddling now and then to set a child straight. Or a woman. Men might need to be caned. If you didn't just hang them. But never put someone in prison; that insults human dignity.

* Not directly featured in the book Cryer's Cross, but excessive whipping at a (defunct at the time the book takes place) school is the entire reason people are disappearing. [[spoiler: It created the ghosts entombed in the desk, which are getting into the heads of the kids who sit there and making them bury themselves alive at the site of the school.]]

* Akito Sohma from ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' often becomes physically violent towards other Sohmas, on top of being a ManipulativeBastard with uncontrollable {{Unstoppable Rage}}s. The actual corporal punishment is played up much more in the anime, though - in the manga, although there's more damage inflicted, the "punishments" tend to be [[BreakingSpeech more psychological]], with the worst physical beatings (like in [[spoiler: Hatori]], [[spoiler: Isuzu]] and [[spoiler: Kureno]]'s cases) happening when Akito is at breaking point.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', Peggy gets her unruly class in order by spanking them, but gets in trouble with the school.

** It gets rather worse at Hogwarts in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'', where Neville is basically covered in scars from the school year and Harry can't even recognize Seamus due to his injuries until Seamus speaks. The Death Eater supervisors would use the Cruciatus Curse on the students, pretty harsh considering the punishment for using the unforgivable curse used to be life in prison and it's repeated use has been shown to be capable of making the victim lose their mind.

* It's mentioned in the prequel LightNovel to ''Anime/YukiYunaIsAHero'' that, while in the past teachers physically harming students to any degree was an issue, corporal punishment is allowed as long as it's not excessive. When Gin gets late to school her teacher taps her on the head with the attendance sheet.

* ''Literature/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'' takes place in late 19th century America and thus this is commonplace in the series. Kids get beaten for everything, even for things that would [[DeliberateValuesDissonance nowadays beconsidered]] unusual or abusive to punish, such as nine-year-old Almanzo being beaten after he almost drowned.

* ''Literature/{{Matilda}}'' has the headmistress employ corporal punishment at any chance she can get. She even once spun a girl around and threw her by her pigtails, ''a la'' the hammer throw.
** Creator/RoaldDahl attended a BoardingSchoolOfHorrors and hated it, incorporating a lot of it into his works. In ''Literature/DannyTheChampionOfTheWorld'', the eponymous Danny gets his hand whipped by his teacher and has to talk his father down from stumping into town on a broken leg to try and beat the man bloody.